Archive for the 'Sports' Category

Chelsea: In Torres We Trust

Published on 12 hours, 49 minutes ago in Sports. 0 Comments

It’s been an year since Torres joined us and even he would agree that it has not been a rosy 12 months experience. He has struggled for goals. And just when we thought he was getting back to his best, he got himself red carded and sidelined for a whole month. Torres has failed to live up to his standards set at Liverpool. His first goal for us is something I always go back to. I remember that night. I was jumping up and down with madness. I was watching the game live on TV and could hear the 40K crowd of Stamford Bridge go “Torres Torres!!”. Even the heavy rain could not dampen their spirits.

Twelve months in and even today the Chelsea fans are fully supportive of our number 9. There are flashes of his brilliance. On his day he torments the defenders – doesn’t score is a different matter as he compensates it by creating lots of chances for others. But then the very next match he once again becomes that lonely man roaming around without any purpose.

I’d like the Chelsea fans to disagree but I feel that our midfield is partly responsible for Torres’s extended goal drought. With Lampard aging, Essien injured we do not have any good player to play the through ball to Torres. A striker feeds off his midfielders. Torres does not have anyone feeding him those balls on a regular basis.

I was watching the Arsenal vs Blackburn game tonight. Arsenal demolished the Rovers 7-1. Do you know how those goals were scored? Walcott received the ball at the edge of the penalty box and he played a wonderful cross to Van Persie who was right in front of the goal. All Persie had to do was to tap the ball in. Sadly for Torres though Sturridge is way too selfish to play him such crosses. On the right we have Ashley Cole who these days just lofts his final ball into the air and hopes someone from Chelsea will head it in. The third goal that Chamberlain scored today was because of an incisive pass by Persie right at the edge of the box. When Torres provides such passes to Ramires or Mata, they just flash their shot wide. No quality finishing.

The lack of ability to finish or create forces Torres to run deeper into the midfield and receive the ball himself. That is something you’ve seen Rooney do last year. The lack of service forces your striker to become a midfielder. And yet you expect goals from him!

I think the manner in which Chelsea play their 4-3-3 doesn’t suit Torres. Chelsea takes the easier option of running down the flanks – supported by Cole and who ever is right back for that game – and then loft the ball into the penalty box for your striker to score. This worked with Drogba because he was that strong bullish presence in the center who could brush aside his markers. With Torres the same does not work. With Torres you need to pass him the ball along the ground through the midfield. And this is exactly why I think a change in formation might just help Torres.

If Chelsea were to go into a 4-4-2 formation with Torres and Sturridge as the two central strikers and Mata playing just behind them, then I think our strikers will have better chances of conversion. Sturridge likes to come inside into a more central position and this formation will help him. For Torres having Mata in the attacking midfield position will help as Mata can provide those passes Torres used to get off Gerrard.

The 4-4-2 system logically should have been the preferred one. I don’t know why AVB still insists with the 4-3-3 when it’s clearly not working for your strikers. I so want Torres to succeed. I will him to score every time he walks onto the field. If Torres were to spend the next 6 months just as hopelessly as the last 12 Roman might not be so forgiving. It’s Abramovich’s unpredictability that freaks me out sometimes. I so want Torres to come good.

PS: I started following Chelsea only after the Shevchenko era. I do not know if there were people just like me then willing him to score every time he came on. That story ended badly. I do not want a repeat of the same with Torres.

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Rumour: Jose To Chelsea?

Published on 23 hours, 58 minutes ago in Sports. 0 Comments

I know this will never happen mostly for two reasons – the breakdown in relationship between Jose and Roman was regarding the power of control of the club that Roman will never agree to compromise and also because I can’t see Chelsea wasting another 20-30 millions firing AVB. But if it were to happen it would make every Chelsea fan around the world happy.

Jose Mourinho brings with himself a guarantee of trophies that no other manager can. He guided us to first Premiere League trophy after like what 50 years of drought? He has the experience and the technical know-how to put in order our messed up team. He can be that ruthless person  to make tough decisions and not care about what people say. AVB, who is much too younger, has tried and failed at the same. To control the egoist dressing room of Chelsea you need a man like Jose.

Now seems like the right time to bring Jose back to Chelsea. Earlier Jose had been too defensive. When at Chelsea his success was built upon a miserly defensive team playing counter-attacking football. He carried over the same philosophy at Inter Milan. Remember the Champions League match against Barcelona. Inter sat back in their last 1/3rd and just defended with their lives – only trying to score at the break. That is why I was not much in favor of getting Jose back to our club. I wanted our team to play with flair and to barrage the opposite end with lots of shots on target. That is something Chelsea does not do.

These two years at Real Madrid has seen a change in Jose’s style. He still cares a lot about the defense – against Barcelona, Real Madrid play like his Chelsea and Inter Milan used to play – but he has also opened up to an attacking style of football. It helps that he has players like Ozil and Ronaldo to make the most of the chances. Look at Real Madrid now. They have won a number of games with 2+ margin. Any manager would be happy with such a record.

However, one must look at all the aspects. Jose needs a team of his liking. If he were to come to Chelsea, he will undoubtedly make lots of changes. With the UEFA’s financial fair play coming into picture it seems highly unlikely that Chelsea is again going to splash lots of money in the transfer market. The philosophy of buying lots of young players point to the same – we would rather have lots of Sturridge like cases rather than Torres. Given the current team, without much tinkering, does Jose have in himself to deliver the Premier League again in his first year? I think not.

Also firing AVB would be senseless. We spent like 15 millions in the summer signing him from Porto. It would be just a waste of money firing him after an year. The guy has potential. He must be given time to create a team to his liking. Unlike his predecessors AVB was not handed a treasure chest to go and hand pick any player in the world. Belief and stability is something Chelsea managers need at this transition period. I’m pretty sure that we’ll finish among the top 4. AVB deserves to continue after that.

Lastly, I think Jose would never come back to Chelsea so long as we have Roman. Jose needs complete control over the club – he had that at Inter and Madrid. At Chelsea he’s never going to get that. Just the last week AVB let it known that the signing of Kevin de Bruyne was club policy and not his decision – read, Roman wanted that deal and not the manager. Roman strikes to me as a dictator kind of a person. It’s good that he loves and cares so much for Chelsea and that love will never let him part his veto power. He’ll always continue to influence the club.

And if Jose really wants to get back in England, he’ll find plenty of opportunities. SAF is getting old. Perhaps Manchester United decide to offer Jose the chance to manage the club where he’ll have complete control just like SAF has. If Manchester City fail to win the Premiere League this year Mancini is almost sure to get fired. City can offer Jose a huge salary and also lots of money to attract players. Arsene Wenger could get booted out in favor of Jose – seems highly unlikely though. With English national team place opening up and Redknapp as the most-probable successor, Spurs could be a destination. But with their wage structure and limited funding it might not be the ideal club for Jose. Liverpool? King Kenny fans will be very upset and the move will surely backfire.

When you just sit back to think about it, and knowing Jose, it could just be that he’s trying to stir up the nest and trouble a few people and nothing more. There’s very little reason why he might leave Real Madrid. He has built an amazing team over there who have not yet managed to win the Champions League. And even if he leaves the two Manchester clubs seem like the more likely destination. I would not even give 5% credibility to the rumors of Jose coming back to Chelsea. It’s just that improbable.

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Why I Get So Excited About Chelsea’s Future

Published on 1 week, 3 days ago in Sports. 0 Comments

If you have been following the Chelsea First team then you would have become frustrated with lack of quality that we display on match days. There are days when we can beat an in-form Manchester City, and then there are days when we have to toil and sweat against an easy Fulham. Lack of consistency is killing our campaign. We no longer have faith in our players. Some might say it’s just downhill from here to a team that won the Double just 2 years ago. But I argue otherwise.

Let me start from Jose Mourinho. If you were to trace his football career you’ll observe a trend. He came to Chelsea, a young exciting coach. He was given complete freedom to shape his team. He put his faith in the bullish Drogba, defensively solid Terry, the Bison Essien, the reliable Frank and the amazing Cech. He moulded these players in the 4-3-3 formation. They learnt to defend in his reign. Even today, when Chelsea decide to sit back and defend it’s very tough for opponents to score against us. Terry and Cech are just too damn good in that.

But along the years as these people aged no one was drafted in to replace them. Mourinho builds a short-term result focused team as evident by Inter Milan’s decline after Jose parted ways with them (it’s only at Real Madrid that he’s had the courage to alter his philosophy a little and build a younger team). Managers one after another were brought in at Chelsea to try and do what Jose did but none succeeded. None really had the courage to alter the core of the team and none could extract the same performances that Jose did. Decline was a natural result. Although Ancelotti managed to win the Double, it was more like the star burning at its brightest before the death. Since then we have really struggled. Our strength has turned into weakness and people call us The Pensioners.

For the first time in years has Roman decided to finally change the team. Drafting Jose Mourinho’s protege Andre Villas-Boas was a big gamble. The move was a declaration of a new era – one where a new core team would be found to help Chelsea be more successful. Also there has been a shift in the buying policy. People at the club are trying to bring in players from the youth team. And this is exactly what pleases and excites me.

Josh McEachren is the first name that springs up. He’s an emerging talent that’ll eventually replace Frank Lampard in the English team. Everyone believes that Wilshere and McEachren will become the next Gerrard and Lampard couple. Josh has been sent out on loan  to Swansea where I expect him to discover his true potential and come back just as strong as Sturridge did after his spell at Bolton. Realistically speaking, with lots of players leaving Chelsea this summer, I expect Josh to become a regular first team player the next season.

Another talent that we have bought this summer is Romelu Lukaku. He’s an ardent Chelsea fan whose role model is Drogba. With Drogba set to leave us this summer I am certain Lukaku will start lot more matches the next season. If he’s half as good as Fifa 2012 makes him he’ll be amazing to watch. Mind you the only direct competition he’s got is a misfiring Torres and a developing Sturridge. In Lukaku we have a striker who has already set the Belgian league on fire. Sturridge might find it tough to hold out against this guy a couple of years down the line.

Josh and Lukaku are almost certainties to feature in the first team next season. Apart from them I also value Lucas Piazon highly. I have only read about him and seen youtube clips. I hold this guy in high regards. Being a typical tricky-dribbler Brazilian he’ll add a hint of class that has been missing from Chelsea recently. But at only 18 he needs to develop a lot to adapt himself to the rigors of Premiere League. He himself admitted that the grounds here are smaller than those in Brazil and thus it becomes difficult to showcase dribbling talent here. He can play on the wing or behind the striker. Mata and Piazon can then in rotation take on different roles which’ll make marking them all the more difficult.

Sam Hutchinson and Ryan Bertrand are the other players who excite me. They are Chelsea academy products and I really hope they make it into the first team sooner than later. We definitely need a cover for Ashley Cole who plays day-in and day-out. Also Terry needs to be phased out slowly and Hutchinson can be that man. Luiz, Cahill starting with Hutchinson as the backup is an ideal solution.

Oh, and not to forget Curtois.

So you see, Chelsea have a lot of amazing talent waiting for the opportunity to express themselves. Instead buying costly people in a fit of panic, we must be a little patient and make the best use of our youngsters. We have a striker, a midfielder, a winger and two defenders waiting to take the Stamford Bridge by storm. We do not really need to buy for these positions. The only position I think we might need to spend will be the right back. we’ve never had a good player in that position.

I am almost certain that the above 6 players will come good for Chelsea. They are the future of Chelsea and will definitely win us a lot of trophies.

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EPL: Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea – Dec 2011 – Post Match

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Villas Boas

Villas Boas

My reaction after the substitutions – WTF is going on in AVB’s mind?

Bringing on Kalou in place of Romeu made technical sense. A 0-0 scoreline against a weaker opponent suggests the introduction of a more attacking player. The choice of player in this case wasn’t something that pleased me though. Whenever I see Kalou, I am reminded of the handball and subsequent penalty given by him to Valencia in the dying moments. This guy doesn’t inspire confidence.

AVB’s next move is more baffling. He brings on Mikel for Mata! Dude. Just 1 up against a team fighting the relegation threat, one must always be on the offensive. Sacrificing your most creative piece for a player who doesn’t deserve a place in any of the top teams makes no sense at all. With this move, Chelsea went into a 4-2-1-3 formation. The only motive at this point was to desperately hang to the lead. And that’s something you do against a better opponent and not Wigan!

The third substitution was absolutely scandalous. Pray tell us the name of the Oracle that told you removing your goal scorer for a lame runner will benefit your side. At this point Wigan were already pouring forward trying to get the equalizer. AVB’s move – let me pick up someone randomly from the field and the bench and swap them. Gosh! That’s terrible.

All this while when Chelsea were in trouble I have defended AVB. But today I am forced to ask what his plans actually were? What was he really expecting his substitutes to accomplish? How can he publicly state that he’ll help Torres find his best form and never give him a chance to play?

I think AVB has totally lost his plot. The pressure’s gotten to him. He has finally bowed down and abolished his attacking principles. The complete 90 minutes Chelsea were playing a purposeless game. There was no real passion or determination to win the game. They just sat back to defend and hoped they get a goal as a gift. It was a drab, dull and boring match. A waste of 90 minutes. Nightmarish. This was just as terrible as the 5-3 drubbing by Arsenal. They could have just bent over and saved themselves the humiliation of almost getting beat by an 18th placed team.

I don’t know what else to say. There was not a single minute in the game when Chelsea looked confident or a title challenger. Easily one of the worst games of the season so far.

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Opportunity For The Golden Boy?

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres

It’s been an year of disappointment for our new number  9 – Fernando Torres. Having sealed a big money transfer from Liverpool on the  January deadline day, he has failed to match the expectations. Yes he was completely out of form when he joined us, but he’s had an year to improve on that. An year is no little time.

With AVB and his new philosophy Torres looked like getting some of his charisma and form back for good. He was good against Manchester United -discount the missed chance – played well in the next match before getting red carded and also scored in the next Champions League game. More importantly, his movement was good and he was willing to run and create opportunities for himself. And then somehow all the hard work was undone and Torres became the same lonely sad figure he was earlier. He has now lost his position in the Chelsea first team. Even for Spain he starts on the bench!

But then yesterday such events unfolded that could revitalize his campaign. There were rumors that he had been put on the market. AVB quashed the rumor insisting that there were no plans to offload the striker – not now nor in summer – a morale boost? Then Drogba will be leaving for the African Cup of Nations in January. We will be left with Torres, Sturridge and Lukaku as the only strikers. Sturridge will start on the wings till we get a new winger. Lukaku still needs to adapt to the English football. This could mean that Torres start each match in January as the central striker – golden opportunity. And then David Villa got himself injured and is expected to face some 6 months on the side lines. Torres does well for Chelsea and he’ll be an automatic selection for the Spain national team – does one need a bigger motivation than this?

The next 50 – 60 days could make or break Torres’s career at Stamford Bridge. I hope he shines. I am desperate for him to score goals for us.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Manchester City – Dec 2011 – Post Match

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Manchester City

Lampard converts a penalty to hand Manchester City their first loss of the season

Did you just see how Lampard celebrated his penalty conversion? Did you notice his passion for the club? Well one thing is certain, he won’t be leaving the club any time soon. And if any manager dares to put him on the transfer list he’ll receive a lot of stick for such an action.

But the writing on the wall is a sure sign that we are moving away from the era dominated by Terry, Cech, Lampard and Drogba. In the past it was mostly Lampard who would take the free kicks. 99% of the penalties were also taken by him. But that role has now passed on to Mata as AVB explained after the match. Slowly but surely a new team is being built with Malouda and Anelka already relegated to the bench in favour of Sturridge and Mata. Also Mikel finds no place for himself as the more technical and quick Romeu has proven to be more than adept at that position. And with Drogba leaving for the African Cup of Nations in January, who knows how much good will it do to Torres and Sturridge. Perhaps when Drogba returns we’ll already have 3 top central strikers – Lukaku being the third.

The game began just as I had expected. Chelsea started with the same attacking philosophy and the high defensive line and were immediately penalized by a marvelous Aguero setting up Balotelli’s goal. Another 10 minutes of misery and our defenders decided to abolish the high line and defend deeper. The impact was immediate. Manchester City were no longer able to find space to trouble Cech and our quick midfield counter attacked whenever given the chance. And then with a moment of Sturridge’s brilliance Meirless found the net to equalize.

Second half started on a better note for Chelsea. Now that we were defending deeper, the confidence cascaded across the team and we got forward a lot more. Clichy’s wretched night saw him earn a second yellow. In all fairness he was no match for Sturridge on that day. With Manchester City down to 10 men, their game plan was to defend and hold out for a draw. This spurred us on. And once again Sturridge was the man of the moment. His shot was blocked by Lescott’s hand and a penalty awarded to Chelsea. Lampard converted the penalty with ease. From that moment on, there was no looking back. A deserved victory saw us cut down the difference to the top of the table to 7 points now. With any luck, if Manchester City were to lose to Arsenal and Chelsea win against Spurs, we will have a great shot at the title.

Romeu seems to have made the DM position his own. He is so calm at the ball, it’s as if he has a while minute to decide whom to pass the ball. That was something missing with Mikel. Ramires and his bursts of energy has seen Chelsea attack a lot more through the right wing this year. Earlier it was the combination of Cole and Malouda on the left that did the trick for Chelsea.

But once again we had to rely completely on Drogba for the central position. This is something that continues to worry me. Lampard is already being phased out and we need to do the same with Drogba. Torres needs to play more. We need to have faith in him for the long term.

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EPL: Chelsea vs Manchester City – Dec 2011

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Manchester City

Chelsea vs Manchester City

It’s the big one today. We face the table toppers at our home. It’s the clash of a fearsome attack against a shaky defense. And I’m afraid. Already AVB has declared that if we lose this game our title race is all but over. A win is vital today and nothing else will do.

Manchester City has set the premier league alight with an amazing display of attack. Having scored 48 goals in the first 14 matches they’ll beat Premier League’s record of highest number of goals – 103 by Chelsea in 2009 – 2010 season – by a big margin. It’s their latest acquisition – Sergio Aguero – who has been the most devastating. He is a potent goal scoring machine. And what makes it worse is that Chelsea had kept tabs on this guy and he could have been in our team had things turned out differently (we put our faith in Torres).

Not to forget David Silva. The guy picked up from where he left the previous season. He’s arguably among the best midfielders in the league, if not the best. He is their main architect.

I’m afraid that these two could rip apart the Chelsea defense just the way they did it with Manchester United, more so if AVB decides to revert back to the high defensive line that our back four are so uncomfortable with. That brings us to the main question – what is going to be AVB’s strategy today? Will he defend deep like he did against Valencia in a do-or-die game? Seems likely because he cannot risk losing this game and slipping 13 points off the top. In fact, he might just play the same team that defeated Valencia by counter attacking which means that Torres will spend another game watching from the bench. Mancini would suspect the same. So will AVB surprise everyone by doing just the opposite and play like Chelsea played against Manchester United – remember had our strikers been more accurate we could have won that day.

For this game I do not want to voice my opinion. I just want us to win this one – hook or by crook. We cannot afford any more losses. And AVB needs a few victories for all the unpleasant rumors to die down. Only by winning a few matches can he gain the confidence of fans and experiment.

I’ll be watching the game with my fingers crossed.

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CL: Chelsea vs Valencia – Dec 2011 – Post Match

Published on 1 month, 4 weeks ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Valencia

Chelsea vs Valencia - The Drog Show

The match result left me ecstatic.A 3-0 victory on a night when there was everything to lose speaks volumes of our players nerves. I am a Chelsea fan and loved the Champions League results – the arrogant Manchester United dumped out by Basel and Manchester City humbly shown the exit door by Napoli.

It was a vintage performance by our team – reminds you of the Mourinho and Anchelotti era. Without the ball we defended passionately and with it tried quick counter attacks. There was no desire of ball retention at all.

This was a night dictated by our Old Guard – Terry, Cech and Drogba, sadly Lampard was missing the action. Once again they rose from the ashes of criticisms to put on a grand show. Cech made wonderful saves diving full length. He kept the Valencia attack at bay with ease. There was only one chance when the ball hit the side bar immediately after Chelsea had scored. Otherwise Cech commanded the goal majestically. Terry and Ivanovich stood like walls in front of their goal keeper. Diving into everything, they made sure that the opposition strikers don’t get a chance to come any where near the goal. Valencia had to be content with long range attempts.

But most of all, it was The Drog Show on display at the Stamford Bridge. I am among the people who have voiced for Drogba to be replaced by Torres in the starting line up. But he proved yesterday night that Torres will always find it difficult to be the automatic choice. His strength, aerial prowess and the ability to hold up play was what got us through that night. In times when defending desperately, you could just lop the ball to this man and he’ll take care of the rest.

Yes, it was the experience and not the youth that got us through. It was the will to prove themselves that got us through. People have been talking a lot about a subdued Stamford Bridge and a fortress that once was and can never be again – it was the need to silence them that got us through.

But this was so uncharacteristic of AVB. At the end one can argue that the strategy was effective,  but would I want my team to play like this every match? Definitely no!

AVB was brought to transform the style of our play. He wants more ball retention and higher tempo. Chelsea has found it difficult to adjust to these new demands. But you have to go through a painful learning curve. Dumping one philosophy and adopting another is not an easy task as AVB must have realized. Yet one must not give up.

AVB is young and this is his first big assignment. He is also learning. The positive I can take out of the match is that he can have two styles of play – the attacking and the defensive one. Quite often this season we have given away last minute goals. This is because we always stick to the high line of defense – something our defenders are not super comfortable with. Also since we want more ball retention the defenders, when challenged by the other team, try to play the ball to one another or a midfielder instead of just kicking it out of play. Luiz being more comfortable with the ball is able to do this, though he over does it. The others are still learning.

What we can do is to attack and get a bit defensive towards the end of the game when playing a tough opposition – when playing against Manchester City and Spurs for example. As seen yesterday, Terry and co. are very comfortable sitting deep and defending as if their life is at stake. But when we play lesser opponents, I want us to attack all the time. Maintain the high line, press a lot and convert shots on goals. With time we can completely transition to the more attractive style.

There have been lot of rumors in the papers lately. But I want Lampard, Terry and Drogba to see off their playing career with us. They’ve given so much to the team. They were the first revolution. Let’s see what the future holds for them.

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Torres Benched Again !

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Drogba and Torres

Drogba and Torres

It’s been 4 matches now that Torres has had to wait for his turn. In fact, he has only played 51 minutes of the last 360. It’s so frustrating to watch him warm the bench. We could use his quality on the pitch than the dug out. He was so close to re-discovering his touch.

I do not speak for AVB, but here’s my take why Drogba has been starting ahead of Torres. This has coincided with the “difficult period” as perceived by everyone at the club. We are not playing like AVB wanted us to. He has come under a lot f strain recently to produce a string of victories. Talk of his getting the sack is rubbish, but knowing Abramovich, one cannot be sure. He needed someone on the pitch to help his case. So it makes sense to go with the big bullish character of Drogba than the silky smooth and stylish nature of Torres.

When Drogba plays you can just shoot a long ball to him and expect him to hold the play for others to catch up thus bypassing the midfield. And Drogba does that very well. This allows the troubled back line to clear the ball quickly and get it into the attacking half. Torres is not good at this. He loses out to long balls and when he tries to hold up play he is often dispossessed. He’s better at having the ball played to him through the midfield in front of the goal – which Chelsea has had trouble with.

Do I believe that Drogba will always be preferred over Torres? No. Once we move on from this difficult times and put in a victory streak, I’ll expect AVB to shed all the negativity and revert back to his principle of stylish play in which Torres has a major part to play. Mata and Sturridge link up so well to create lots of chances. Throw Torres in and we’ll have an entertaining front for Chelsea.

Once again Drogba has shown that Chelsea needs him. He may be past his best but he’s still got the quality to pull us out of miserable times. It’s only me speculating and being optimistic here. I hope I am right. It’s such a shame that they can’t play together. They could have been the fearsome couple!

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CL: Bayer Leverkusen vs Chelsea – Nov 2011

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago in Sports. 0 Comments
Chelsea vs Bayer Leverkusen

Torres challenged by Bender

It’s the turn of ex-Chelsea midfielder and a proud ex-captain of Germany, Michael Ballack, to welcome us home. I have many fond memories of him dictating the mid field of my teams. In fact, the primary reason I became a Chelsea fan was the fact that Ballack was playing for them.

This is a crucial away tie for Chelsea in the Champions League. Our defense has been erroneous of late, we haven’t done well in the Premier League, which is why winning is all the more important today. Our morale needs the impetus that todays win can provide.

But for that, we must shed all the negativity and self doubts that has engulfed  us and play with a positive mindset. I think starting Torres is a must. Drogba is done and dusted. We need the enthusiasm and work rate of Torres to spur us forward. He needs to rediscover his clinical finishing to justify the price paid for him. But he cannot do this all alone by himself. He needs supporting.

That support must come from Mata, Sturridge and Ramires. Together, the four of them can work wonders. I have faith in my team. Sooner than later we’ll be ready to conquer the world.

Looking towards the future, I vote that Oriel Romeu start the game ahead of Mikel. He is a promising asset. Lastly, we hope the back 4 actually do their work today.

It’s not an easy game today. In Schurrle, Bender and Ballack, they have 3 amazing players. We need to be wary of their goal threat. Not to be taken lightly. And if we manage to emerge victorious, we’ll be sealing our progress to the round of 16 – alas, we should have done that in the last round itself.

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